Method of making muzzle sleeves



Oct. 17, 1944. I H. e. SCHOLTZ ET AL 2,360,724

METHOD OF MAKING MUZZLE SLEEVES Filed NOV. 24, 1941.

Patented Oct. 17, 1944 UN [TED ST "res ear ENT OFFHFC born,

ware

and Alfred H. Mich., assignors to Th America, Detroit, Mic

Haberstump, Detroit,.

e Murray Corporation of ,a corporation of Dela- ApplicationNovember 24, 1941, Serial No. 420,220

2 Claims.

This invention relates to muzzle sleeves. for

guns, and particularly to. a muzzlesleevetand novel method of construction.

Sleeves for the muzzles of rifles. and. cannon have been employed for some time for.reduc ing the shock of recoil without ,deleteriously affecting the muzzle velocity of the projectile which is fired. The sleeve heretofore was constructed from a. solid bar which was drilled and reamed .or otherwise. finished on the inner surface and similarly machined on the exterior surface. Rows of slots disposed at a predetermined angle were thereafter milled in the wall of the the tube so formed.

The present invention pertains -to the construction of a muzzle sleeve by first shearing flat stock to predetermined size and punching a series of rows of slots through the resulting plate while the plate is disposed at a predetermined angle conforming to that desired for the Walls of the slots. This punching operation may be performed while the plate is cold or the plate may be heated to reduce the strain on the punching elements. Thereafter, the punched plate is rolled on a mandrel of predetermined diameter and the abutted edges welded. The weld is thereafter normalized and a finished machine operation is performed on the inner and outer surfaces of the sleeve. The method of constructing this muzzle sleeve materially reduces the cost over prior methods of machining such sleeves by a saving in time, labor and material.

Accordingly, the main objects of this invention are: to provide a method of making a sleeve with rows of radial slots disposed at an angle to the axis of a sleeve having like ribs therebetween with radial sides and similar areas with one rib formed of abutted portions welded together; to form a muzzle sleeve from a plate of predetermined dimension by punching rows of angular slots therein, rolling the plate on a mandrel to form a cylinder with the sides of the slots and the abutted edges of the plate radially disposed; to form a sleeve by shearing a plate to predetermined dimension, punching rows of slots therein when the plate is disposed at a predetermined angle and rolling the plate on a mandrel into a cylinder with the opposite edges abutted and welded and thereafter heating the sleeve to anneal the welded joint; and in general, to form a sleeve by a production method which includes punching slots in a metal :plate and rolling the plate into a cylinder.

Other objects and features of novelty of this invention will be either specifically pointed out or: willi. become apparent when referring; for a.better:understanding, of the invention, to the following. description taken in conjunctionwit-h the accompanying: drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 ;is. a .plan. view-of a. plate sheared to size vto-form a sleeve .embodyingthis invention;

Fig. .2 isa side elevationalview of rows of punchesin a. position to perform. a: punching operationwon a plate-.which is -disposed at an angle;

Fig. 3 is a view of structure, similar to that illustrated in Fig. 1, after the punching opera tion;

Fig. 4 is a view of the stucture illustrated in Fig. 3 after the plate has been rolled to form;

Fig. 5 is a view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 3 after being machined to final form;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 5, taken on the line 6-6 thereof;

Fig. '7 is a reduced view of the plate illustrated in Fig. 3 after the initial forming operation; and

Fig. 8 is a View of the plate of Fig. 7 after a further forming operation but before the final rolling operation on a mandrel.

A muzzle sleeve I6 is illustrated in Fig. 6 hav-- ing a wall I I of predetermined thickness through which rows I2 of slots I3 have been provided, disposed at a predetermined angle relative to the axis of the sleeve. Webs I5 are maintained between the slots having side walls I6, which are radially disposed. The web I! is formed of abutted web portions which form a V-slot I8, which is filled with a welding material.

The sleeve I0 is preferably produced by first blanking a plate I9 to predetermined size, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The plate is disposed on a sloping face 2| of a supporting block 22, through which rows of vertical slots are provided. A plurality of rows of punches 23 are mounted on a. block 24, which is supported on the movable head 25 of a press. The block 24 abuts against a rigid pillar 34, against which the end of a movable guide plate 35 contacts. The guide plate is provided with rows of slots through which the punches 23 operate while being prevented from shifting by the guide plate. The plate 35 is supported on vertically movable bolts 31 over which springs 36 are supported for urging the plate away from the block 24. The slope 2| of the block 22 controls the angular position of the walls of the slots relative to the axis of the sleeve when formed from the plate.

After the plate I9 is punched, it is machined along the edges SI and placed in dies to be sinuously formed as illustrated in Fig. 7. Thereafter a further set of dies is employed to form the plate from the sinuous shape of Fig. 7 to the substantially cylindrical shape of Fig. 8. There- 1 after the plate of the form illustrated in Fig. 8 is rolled over a mandrel into desired cylindrical shape, as illustrated in Fig. 4. In any of the forming and rolling operations the plate is heated, although cold Working is possible if the thickness of the material is not too great for a given diameter. The cylinder is then normaliz'ed, and the inner surface 15 machined to size by a broaching, boring or like operation. One

ing the punching operation, for forming the plate. in the die operations, for rolling the plate'on the mandrel, for welding the seam formed on the ends of the plate, and for annealing, tapping and finishing the inner and outer surface and the ends of the cylinder; This invention, therefore, has advanced the art of constructing muzzle sleeves for guns materially over that now employed. 7

What is claimed is:

1. The method of constructing a muzzle sleeve which includes the steps of, punching a plurality of rows of elongated slots through a plate when the plate is disposed on a slope to plane normal to the direction of movement of the punches to have the longitudinal walls of the slots disposed parallel to each other and sloping relative to the face of the plate, and rolling the punched plate into a cylinder with the parallel walls of the slot sloping relative to the cylinder axis.

2. The method of constructing a muzzle sleeve which includes the steps of, punching a plu-' rality of rows of elongated slots through a'plate when the plate is disposed on a slope to a horizontal plane to have the longitudinal walls of the slots disposed parallel to each other and sloping relative to the face of the plate, rolling the punched plate into a cylinder-with the parallel walls of the slots sloping relative to the cylinder axis, and Welding the abutted edges of said rolled plate. s

HARRY GSCHOLTZ.

o'r'ro MUELLER. 'ALFRED H. .HABERSTUMP. 

